Breadcrumb Trail Links

What could a Kenney cabinet look like? Speculation begins leading up to April 30

Author of the article:

Sammy Hudes

Publishing date:

April 17, 2019 • 4 minute read

Alberta Premier-Designate Jason Kenney speaks at a news conference outside the Alberta Legislature building in Edmonton on Wednesday April 17, 2019, the day after his United Conservative Party was elected to govern the province.Larry Wong/ POSTMEDIA NETWORK

Article Sidebar

Share this Story: What could a Kenney cabinet look like? Speculation begins leading up to April 30

Trending

Article content

Premier-designate Jason Kenney has a list of more than 60 names to choose from as he begins the process of building his first cabinet.

Kenney’s UCP won a strong majority, taking 63 out of a possible 87 seats, according to unofficial tallies. Speaking outside the legislature on Wednesday afternoon, he told reporters his cabinet would be sworn in April 30.

What could a Kenney cabinet look like? Speculation begins leading up to April 30Back to video

But the question remains who will be part of it.

“We’ll sit down and make those decisions in the days to come, but we’ve got a great caucus to choose from, a very diverse team,” Kenney said.

“This was the youngest team of candidates ever to run for a free enterprise party in Alberta and the most diverse. Obviously, we’ll want to make sure that there’s representation from every region, including the Edmonton region, and a good mix of backgrounds.”

Someone who could be “front and centre” is Leela Aheer, who served as UCP deputy leader after the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties merged in 2017, said Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“She has been a very good MLA and, of course, is a woman. It’s going to be very important to have her in there,” Williams said.

Aheer, who enters her second term as the representative for Chestermere-Strathmore, said Tuesday she’ll look to build relationships as a government MLA.

“Our job is to elevate the community, not to push it down, not to stomp on it,” she said. “The whole point of it is that you get the opportunity to be this voice for people.”

Others who could serve in key ministries include Doug Schweitzer, the winner in Calgary-Elbow and a former UCP leadership candidate, and Sonya Savage, who touted her 13-year career in the energy sector after taking Calgary-North West.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Williams said Schweitzer and Savage might be good fits in the justice and energy ministries, respectively.

“(Schweitzer) is considered very moderate. He’s far away from the leadership campaign scandal stuff,” Williams said.

“I think (Kenney) needs somebody like him who’s more respected.”

Savage said she’d “be happy to serve in whatever capacity.”

“Our first and foremost job is to represent the people that elected us,” she said. “We’ve got a very moderate platform. It’s a platform designed at getting people back to work and bringing the economy back.”

University of Lethbridge political science professor Geoffrey Hale pointed to former finance critic Drew Barnes, who enters his third term representing Cypress-Medicine Hat, as someone “senior enough” to head up the portfolio in government.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Others such as Ric McIver, a former Calgary city councillor who led the PCs on an interim basis after their defeat in 2015, and second-term Calgary MLA Prasad Panda, could also be in line for cabinet posts.

“Mr. McIver has a deep municipal experience, which will be helpful,” Hale said. “Mr. Panda would be a good economic development minister. He’s a measured guy who knows the oil industry, but hasn’t been in a position to put him in a conflict of interest.”

McIver declined to share his thoughts on a potential cabinet appointment Wednesday, saying “those decisions are the exclusive purview of the premier.” But he said the UCP needs “to re-create the economic powerhouse that once was Alberta,” while in government.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“Albertans gave us what I think is a tremendously big mandate,” he said. “I invite Albertans to hold our feet to the fire, to do what we said we were going to do.”

Hale said the UCP’s bigger challenge will be finding key fits in the “social policy ministries.” It’ll also have to find a way to represent the province across all regions, despite a lack of UCP victories in Edmonton and a slate that includes many rookie MLAs.

“While you have a few experienced people who have had governmental experience, you will have a number of rookie ministers who haven’t run a ministry before,” he said.

“Ensuring there’s a cross-section of people from different backgrounds is (a message) he’s already sent in his candidate recruitment process.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Williams added that despite Kenney’s penchant for a battle, he should avoid having controversial candidates, such as Mark Smith of Drayton Valley-Devon, in key positions. Smith, a former education critic, won his riding despite past homophobic remarks that surfaced during the campaign.

“He might be bloody-minded enough to say, ‘look, nobody’s going to tell me what to do,’ but he doesn’t need more controversy bubbling up,” Williams said.

“I’m pretty confident we’re going to see as many women as possible in the cabinet . . . This is the message he’s been pitching throughout the campaign about how large the party is, how diverse it is. There will be pressure to reflect that diversity in his cabinet. That’s going to be quite important.”

Share this Story: What could a Kenney cabinet look like? Speculation begins leading up to April 30

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.